CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Parents and students continue to reach out to the CBS 6 Problems Solvers about bus delays in Chesterfield County.
Parents said after-school delays for buses range anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, so some students are opting to walk from school to get home at a decent time.
Joshua English, a 10th-grader at Midlothian High School, said the end of the school day is a waiting game for the bus or deciding to walk miles to get home.
“It’s really frustrating. It’s over a two-mile walk home,” English said.
His bus route home is a double-back route, which according to the district means the bus takes a first group of kids home right after school. Then the bus returns to the school to pick up a second group around 3:45 or 3:50 p.m.'
Officials with Chesterfield County Public Schools said double-back routes impact roughly 5% of students who ride the bus.
Joshua’s mother, Lori English, said this has been an issue for her son since before the pandemic.
Student calls Chesterfield double-back bus route 'really frustrating'
English believes more needs to be done because she says her son walking home roughly three miles is "not acceptable."
"He’s walked home in the pouring rain before," she said.
RELATED: Bus wait times are 'a challenge,' Chesterfield student says
Chesterfield County Public Schools acknowledged driver vacancies are to blame for some delays and late buses.
The district said they have established an in-house training program for drivers.
“With each new driver we are able to reduce the number of delays and late arrivals,” district officials wrote in a statement.
As of Oct. 11, the school system reported 63 bus driver vacancies.
However, the district states that hiring just 34 drivers would cover all routes.
Right now, district officials said 27 bus drivers are in training and that others in the hiring process.
“We continue to aggressively recruit bus drivers," a district spokesperson said. "We are offering the best bus driver employment package in the region."
Those benefits are listed below:
- Paid training beginning on the first day of training class
- State-approved CDL school bus driver training course provided free-of-charge
- Eligibility for a $50 perfect-attendance bonus each month
- Eligibility for a $100 safe-driving bonus each semester
- Eligibility for retention bonuses
- Full-time benefits: Virginia Retirement System, Health/Dental/Life insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, Paid Leave, Employee Assistance Program
Joshua English hopes the district moves away from double-back routes.
"It's gone on long enough," the sophomore said "It's time to get it fixed and changed."
Click hereto apply or find out more information from Chesterfield County Public Schools.
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